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Preparing for a Mission Trip - Dr. Jeff Carlisle
The Physical PreparationConditioning
● Walking - most mission trips you do lots of walking. It is always good to be ready
● Altitude - if you are going somewhere with higher elevation.double your
walking, and walk with a weighted backpack:)
● If you are going somewhere hot, drive with your windows down and ac off.
● Get used to drinking water. This is the top physical eliminator of short-term
missionaries. You travel better when you are hydrated. You function better whenyou are hydrated. Practice drinking water at room temperature.
● Remember Minimalist Mindset (you pack you carry). Always take travel
● Clothing: proper climate clothing, extreme clothing (rain jacket, long underwear,
● “THE APOTHECARY” (personal meds) - I take allergy meds, benadryl, tums, pepto
tabs, tylenol pm, dramamine, meclizine, immodium, charcoal tabs, and I getsome antibiotics from my Doctor for lower GI issues.
● Food supplements - You might be a “eat anything” type person, but you never
know. Smells, visuals of food, preparation of food, and cuts of food might throwyour diet off. Protein, nuts and tuna pouches are good choices.
If you are doing evangelism, it would be wise to memorize the material. Samething for discipleship. If you need to know 10 lessons, memorize them and beready to teach.The Mental PreparationAttitude.
As a missionary you have to be superfluid. Flexibility has a breaking point.Fluidity is a state that can allow a person to just “go with the flow.” America isone of the few countries that keep a tight calendar with time, most countries donot. You are also looking for divine appointments and that is like looking for awave in surfing.
I have found it best to hype up the negatives about a trip. If they say it is hot,prepare for crazy hot! If they say you will do lots of walking, prepare for miles of
You are in a different culture. Unfortunately for most people, they are not used tosharing their faith. For most short-term Living Hope missionaries, you will beworking through translators. You must be prepared to get out of your comfortzone.
Your mission trip is not a solo experiment. There is no “I” in TEAM:) You mustrealize your team was called of God to work together to reach a communitytogether. That means you need to lovingly work together.The Spiritual Preparation
Physical and mental preparedness are important. They are what prepares you to beready to be used by God. BUT, if you are not spiritually ready to be used by God, Satanwill use your spiritual unpreparedness as a foothold to hurt the Kingdom work that willgo on. This could negatively affect your attitude. This could prevent you from doingministry. It could destroy the morale of the team. It could even turn the people fromthe culture you are working with off from the Gospel.
The entire Bible is a great way to get spiritually prepared for a trip, but here are somegreat scriptures to prepare your heart for a mission trip:
Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you allthe families of the earth shall be blessed.”
This scripture is referring to Abram (eventually Abraham). All families/nations/ethnicitieswill be blessed by Abram and his offspring. We are spiritually a part of that family. It isthrough believers that all the earth will be blessed.Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fatherand of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I havecommanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
As believers it is a command from Jesus that we make disciples. That is as we go - go to
work, go to school, and go into our community, country and all the continents.Romans 10:14-15
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they tobelieve in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear withoutsomeone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
In order for people to hear about the Gospel, people must go. If you are not called to go,then you are called to be a sender.Matthew 16:24
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself andtake up his cross and follow me.
To be a disciple-go’er or disciple-sender, it takes sacrifice. Most people don’t go onmission trips with vacation time. Most people don’t choose to give money to furtherGod’s message to the world. Time and money is a sacrifice you are taking to get theGospel out into the world.Mark 4:14-20
The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word issown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sownin them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hearthe word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, butendure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word,immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They arethose who hear the word,but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches andthe desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. Butthose that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept itand bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
A farmer never knows what kind of crop he will yield. He just knows that he must sowthe seeds. Christ says that the sower sows. The sower does not cause a seed to changeinto a plant and yield fruit. Nor can a missionary change a life to that of a believer. It isthe Holy Spirit that does that.John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
When the Gospel is shared, the Holy Spirit may choose to work. Again, it is not themissionary it is the Holy Spirit that changes a life.John 16:8And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness andjudgment:When the Holy Spirit chooses, he wil convict a life. He wil reach out to a person and they wilfeel the urge to accept Jesus.Titus 3:5
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his ownmercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
We see here the Holy Spirit renews a life. It is not what we say. It is not how religiouswe are. It is from God’s mercy that the Spirit works in a life to change a life.Romans 11:28-29
As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they arebeloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God areirrevocable.Once a person accepts Christ, his/her spiritual gifts and cal ing to be a child of God cannot betaken away. The Spirit wil work in this person’s life to further God’s kingdom.Revelation 7:9
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from everynation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne andbefore the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
We see that in the end al nations wil know of God. And through earlier scriptures, you can seeit is part of disciples life to get the word out about the Gospel.